zzrhardy:The sort of games/literature/comics that has skimpily armor clad women is aimed at men generally. Who cares what women think, they aren't the intended target audience.

It's like a guy picking up some romance novel aimed at women - you know with a shirtless Fabio on the front or some shiat, and complaining that all the ultra perfect male protagonists who will literally die if they don't get the girl are unrealistic. Who cares, read/watch/play something else.

Not everything is aimed at everyone, nor should it have to be.

There's a big difference here. Using your example, if a man picked up a romance novel and didn't like or "approve" of it for any reason, he'd simply shrug his shoulders and write his own romance novel that was more to his liking instead of complaining about it. Men fix things, women complain about them.

I don't know what you're complaining about, it's not like young boys could develop a skewed perception of body image from something like that.

Isn't that because young boys are smart enough to know the difference between fantasy and reality?

No, it's because boys usually don't give a crap what they look like. On the other hand, it's usually the first thing a girl is judged on.

You sure about that? Why don't we ask the fat ugly guy in school if looks matter? You know, the guy everyone makes fun of.

Don't ask me about that, dude, I was just the ugly girl boys went out of their way to tell how disgusting she looked.

Besides, he said young boys. See, I am super super old and I recall the days when kids were playing with He-Man toys on the playground and eating their pudding pops and such, and you see the boys had messed up hair and dirt on their clothes and boogers and just did not give a damn. The girls, on the other hand, would have been mortified to be seen like that. It would have made them...ew, like, gross. You had strong boys and clever boys and funny boys but if you were a girl, well, by George, you'd better be a pretty girl or wishing you were a pretty girl. Then when we grew up, none of the girls expected the boys to look like He-Man but the boys did expect the girls to look like Barbies.

Anyhow, I struck gold in the backhills of Calleefornya back in '53 and spent that winter in a cave with pack of feral Mormons I eventually ended up selling to Chinese opium dealers for a crank operated movie projector and 10 barrels of fine Fresno olives.

Mouser:Evans points to the tale of Margaret of Beverley, a woman who did indeed participate in the defense of Jerusalem while the city was under siege by Saladin during the Third Crusade. Margaret's brother wrote that she wore a cooking pot on her head while she brought water to the men on the walls. Although her behavior is described as man-like, and Evans notes that it seems entirely plausible that anyone might find a cooking pot a handy piece of armor in a siege, he wonders if Margaret's headgear was invented to make her seem more womanly, or to create an absurd visual of a woman in war, using a woman's tools to defend herself.

I don't know about you, but I'd think twice about going up against someone wearing a pot on their head and armed with an assortment of kitchen knives and other potentially lethal cookware.

rjakobi:I don't think people get it. The reason women had scanty armor was because it enflamed the lusts of their male rivals and put them at a marked disadvantage. You ever had a boner inside of a metal codpiece? Very uncomfortable.

OK, geek time. We came up with a house rule in D&D to explain this. Just like heavy armor can dex cap you, full body coverage charisma caps you. Resulted in some especially interesting challenges for paladins, who had to choose between AC and charisma until they could afford invisible armor.

skinink:The io9 picture made me realize I haven't seen much of Leelee Sobieski in anything lately. At one point she was in a lot of stuff and now she's just in something here and there. I think she's cuter than Jennifer Lawrence.

What's the complaint here? That video games don't look like real life?

On a related note, I can't wait for the release of "3rd Floor Cube Farm", I understand that they've realistically implemented flickering fluorescent lights and the snack machine i the break room is its own minigame. Best of 2014, I'm telling you.

I don't think people get it. The reason women had scanty armor was because it enflamed the lusts of their male rivals and put them at a marked disadvantage. You ever had a boner inside of a metal codpiece? Very uncomfortable.